England manager Roy Hodgson announced his provisional squad ahead of Euro 2016 at Wembley Stadium on Monday (16th May), and discussed Wayne Rooney's role in the team.

SOUNDBITE: (English) Roy Hodgson, England manager:

(on whether he will start Wayne Rooney in the first group game in France)

"Wayne Rooney is the captain and Wayne Rooney has done a fantastic job for England - 109 games and 51 goals - that's one terrific record. They aren't many players in Europe at international level that will reach that level of success. He's been very important to us during the qualifiers and we're very grateful for the goals he's scored there and the work he's done for us. But in terms of selecting a team against Russia, I've got three matches before that. First I've got to select a team to play against Turkey, then I've got to select one to play against Australia, then one to play against Portugal. Who knows what's going to happen in those games. Wayne Rooney is a very important part of our squad but to my knowledge he certainly isn't saying 'I am demanding that I play in the opening game', he's not demanding that he must play in this position in the opening game. I'm under no pressure whatsoever to select him in the opening game unless I feel he's going to be the best man for the job."